Nantucket Project: Day One

By Joshua Balling

Saturday

Sep 28, 2013 at 2:00 AM

I&M Staff Writer

(Sept. 27, 2013) AOL founder Steve Case. Former U.S. treasury secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers. Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond. Not a bad way to kick off the third annual Nantucket Project, which opened at the White Elephant Hotel Friday afternoon.

The three men highlighted a full schedule of presenters that also included energy analyst Alex Trembath of the Breakthrough Institute, Progressive Prisons founder Jeff Grant and Drug Policy Alliance founder Ethan Nadelmann.

LeMond spoke candidly for nearly a half-hour with former talk-show host Phil Donahue about the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs and blood doping in professional cycling, and his confrontations with Lance Armstrong over the issue, while Summers expressed both optimism and concern about the state of the U.S. economy and offered some ideas on what could possibly be done to improve it from a fiscal and monetary policy perspective. Case reminded the audience that "Two hundred and fifty years ago, America was a start-up, just an idea," while speaking on the benefits of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Founders Tom Scott and Kate Brosnan had planned to bring in former Soviet head of state Mikhail Gorbachev this year, but he was forced to cancel late last week due to emergency spinal surgery. He has been replaced by U.S. senator and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

The theme of this year’s Nantucket Project is “Seek the Truth. Endure the Consequences,” and each presenter embodies those words in their own way, Brosnan said.

For complete coverage of this year's Nantucket Project, pick up the Oct. 3 Inquirer and Mirror.

The I&M will be Tweeting highlights and updates for the duration of the event. Follow us here.

Photo by Jim Powers

David Stockman, director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Reagan administration, speaks during the Nantucket Project's Finance Forum at the Nantucket Yacht Club Thursday afternoon. I&M Photo Galleries

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